Nortel wins $44 mln in China deals

VivianChu

HONG KONG (CBS.MW) - Nortel Networks has won contracts totaling $44 million from three regional carriers in China, reinforcing the company's position as the biggest seller of fiber optic equipment in that country.

The Canadian telecom equipment giant said it inked a $34 million agreement with Hebei Telecom to build an optical network linking the province's 11 major cities, which will provide them with greater and cheaper bandwidth. It also signed agreements with Jiangsu Telecom and Jiangxi Telecom for fiber optic solutions. The three operators are regional carriers of China Telecom, the country's monopoly fixed-line operator.

Tuesday's deals bring the value of Nortel's contracts in China to $172 million over the past month. They also underscore the company's position as the top seller of fiber optic equipment to China, the world's fastest-growing telecom market. Last month, Nortel
NT
signed $263 million in contracts with the country's three leading telecom firms, including a $101 million agreement to build a nationwide fiber optic network for China Telecom.

Nortel is a biggest provider of fiber optic network equipment, which lets telecom operators carry more information on their networks at higher speeds by using light pulses, rather than electronics, to transmit voice and other data.

Last month, the company cut its 2001 revenue growth forecast to 15 percent from 30 percent, and its earnings to 10 percent from 30 percent, over a slump in demand from the U.S.

Shares of Nortel closed up 2.15 percent at $17.60 on Monday. They are almost 80 percent down from their year-high.

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